Into the Mountains to Ruins, Pools, the Jungle and the Forest

When we lived on Maui we decided to visit all the Islands, including the two smaller ones of Molokai and Lanai.  Molokai had fought and won against the cruise ships so they were not allowed to port at the island, while Lanai allowed the Four Seasons Resort to build two hotels on the island.  On the ferry over to Molokai most of the other passengers were locals returning from jobs on Maui to spend the weekend with family.  The first question we were always asked was where we were staying, followed by the question, when we were leaving.  The message was clear enough, we were welcome for a brief time but not welcome to stay forever.

Chiapas is the state that separates Mexico from Guatemala on the western side of the country.  It is one of the poorest states in Mexico and in the 1990’s unsuccessfully fought a guerrilla war to gain its independence from the rest of the country.  I am not sure if it is the result of isolation or from a want of independence but it is the least friendly state we have been in Mexico.

We woke in Hutulco early after a late night, the second in a row where we were up past 11… not something we are used to, even before we left on the trip, we were the only guests that made it out of bed besides Charles who was down working on his boat. 

 

We got the scoop from Roberto about where to stay in Chiapas our next destination, his suggestion was either Chiapa del Corzo or San Cristobal de las Casa and then Agua Azul and Pelenque.  With that we loaded up the car and headed out on what Roberto assured us it would be a 4 to 5 hour drive, we knew we drove much slower and planned on 6 hours, it took 8.  We had driven from sea level to 7,500 feet and when we left it was 86 degrees compared to the 56 degrees when we stopped. 

 

San Cristobal de las Casas maybe a charming town, we didn’t really explore it, it was the first place we really encountered difficulty with the dogs.  We finally found a hotel on the far side of town that would take them and let them sleep with us in the room, but by then it was 6:30, we were tired, hungry and sleepy.  I think the only reason they accepted the dogs, was that we were one of two rooms being used.  The Villas Vanessa is beautiful and I can imagine that it gets completely booked with people escaping the heat of the low lands, it would be a beautiful place for a wedding or a quincenera, but in mid March, before semana santa it is empty. 

Up at the crack of early the next morning we headed out to the water falls and swimming holes of Agua Azul.  I had read mixed reviews of Agua Azul and I have mixed reviews to give.  The first impression was a bit chaotic, with paying the entrance fee and trying to explain the group of women selling bananas and tamales that we were not interested, then to the parking area.  Once we were settled we started to explore the falls and pools.  There are three main pools for swimming roped off for safety, and each is separated from the one above by a waterfall.  It is lovely. 

After passing the first set of falls Fritz looked at me and said, “Wow, this place is really a tourist trap isn’t it?” which is the sad part of Agua Azul, lining the path are stores selling everything from shirts to key chains, and in front of every restaurant is someone waving you in.  The worst part about it is the 5 peso charge to use the restroom, this on top of the 100 peso charge for entering the park. 

They even charge 30 pesos to cross a foot bridge and there you can also hire a guide to take you to the less crowded pools.  We enjoyed our time there and not wanting to drive at night “camped” in the car that night in the parking lot.  The last tour bus pulled out around 6:30 and the first one was there at 7 the next morning.  It was a weekend so I assume it was a bit more crowded than during the week, but we counted over 15 buses during our time there.

Around 7:30 we headed for our next stop, the Mayan Ruins of Planeque.  We camped at a cute little spot called Maya Bel, filled with back packers, overlanders and people renting cabanas.  We hired a guide for a tour of the jungle, which I would recommend as one could easily get lost in the thick growth that surrounds the ruins. 

After a sweaty hike we exited the jungle on the tomb of the wife of the great ruler of Planeque, the difference from the jungle to the city that was there before was amazing, made more so by the fact that when the ruins were first rediscovered they were covered by the jungle.  Our guide explained that the Mayans that lived there had been the architects of their own demise, deforestation lead to changes in the climate and after a while droughts made it impossible to live in the area, a lesson for all of us in this time of global climate change. 

Hot, tired and starving we headed back to the main town a rather ugly dusty place filled with Elektras (think Best Buys), Oxxos (think 7-11) and shabby hotels, tacos in our belly it was back to the campsite to swim in the pool, share stories with another couple traveling around Mexico and watch the Howler monkeys play in the trees.
 

We thought about staying another day but decided to head out the next morning and move closer to the Guatemalan border so we could cross easily the following morning.  After being stopped repeatedly by young children holding ropes across the road begging for pesos we decided rather than retracing our steps the whole way back to San Cristobal de las Casas we would cut across from Ocosingco to Comitan.  The trip saved us about 5 hours but we were stopped twice by groups of men with makeshift blockades demanding 50 pesos to continue on our way.  Once in Comitan we headed to the Lagos Montebello and stumbled upon the Cabanas Esmeralda.  There we met a family from Mexico City who currently live in Chiapas and watched a pick up soccer game and gave them a Frisbee to play with.  They also invited us to join them on a day trip to the lake where we could use their Kayaks and teach the kids how to Stand Up Paddle Board (kind of funny as we are still learning ourselves).

This group of people has helped to change our minds about Chiapas and as we cross into Guatemala makes us sad to be leaving Mexico.